Blockbuster and Comcast Team for DVDsByMail.com

If Lex Luthor and Dr. Doom were to combine forces to spread malevolence and despair across the globe, I'm not sure they'd be quite as evil as the merging of Blockbuster and Comcast. Luckily for all of us, Blockbuster Video and Comcast aren't really merging into one mega-corporation hellbent on sowing the seeds of customer dissatisfaction in their wake, but the duo is teaming up for an online DVD rental by mail program called DVDsByMail.com.

With Netflix entering the great white north (Canada) and Redbox mulling over their online options, Blockbuster is launching this last-ditch effort to stay afloat and stave off their impending bankruptcy. The site, which states that the service is currently in beta, isn't really any different from Blockbuster's already in place online rental program. However, if you're a Comcast customer, you get a discount for using the service. Apparently, if you're not a Comcast customer, there's no deal for you.

After clinging desperately to their brick-and-mortar stores, outrageous prices, and outdated late fee system, it appears as though Blockbuster has finally realized that online DVD rentals are the wave of now. Add in their deals with certain studios to get new releases ahead of Netflix and Redbox and it seems like they might have finally figured out what they're doing. The question is, is it too late?

What do you think? Would you go back to renting from Blockbuster if they had lower prices than Netflix and movies a few weeks in advance? I think The Better Business Bureau better hire a truckload of new staffers to deal with all the customer service complaints bound to emerge when these two companies team up on anything.